Four ways you can start saving your business money today

Are you wasting money in your business? Discover four ways you can reduce your outgoings and make wiser decisions, and start saving money today.

Many of us have our sights – and focus – firmly set on making money for our businesses. And while that’s absolutely as it should be, it’s just as important to look at the other end of the financial picture – your outgoings.

Too many entrepreneurs (including us!) sometimes waste money they could easily save with just a little more attention on key areas of their business.

Four ways you can start saving your business money today

To help you stop losing any more of your precious profit unnecessarily, we look at four ways you can start saving your business money today.

1) Optimise your business expenses

Every business has expenses, but how lean are yours? Are you only spending on what you need, and choosing the most cost-efficient resources?

All too often, businesses unknowingly waste money on expenses that could easily be avoided or reduced with some careful planning. Or they try to go too cheap, spending money on inferior products or services that don’t do the job as efficiently or well.

So as well as checking you’re not spending too much money, make sure that you’re spending enough! While this may seem a strange thing to say, you need to remember that not all expenses are equal. And some are, in fact, a valuable investment in your future growth.

A great example of this is the people and partners you work with. Choose wisely, and they can save you money and time – allowing you to focus on the things you do best, and that will enable your business to thrive faster.

2) Give your employees ownership

If the people who work for you just feel like another brick in the wall, they’ll never be fully invested in your business. And rather than look for opportunities to help you grow and save money, they’ll simply go through the motions of their job.

On the other hand, if your employees (and your freelancers and consultants) feel trusted, valued and empowered, they’ll use their initiative and ensure they’re accountable for the business.

While empowering people might sound simple, it relies heavily on one factor: trust. You need to trust your employees, and they need to feel trusted, and this comes from nurturing a great relationship from the start. (Read five HR tips to help you hire the right people.)

3) Think about your space

Where is your business based? If you’re currently in an office space that is either too big or too small for your needs, it may be wise to rethink things.

Do you need physical office space? And if so, does it have to be the space you currently rent? Many businesses today are switching to a remote working model, with some even opting for a virtual office.

And if you’re working from home, consider whether it’s really serving your needs. Are you able to concentrate fully, or are you often distracted? Sometimes going ‘out’ to work can make a huge difference on your productivity. If you can’t afford an office by yourself, you can always consider a coworking space.

4) Make your data work for you

If you want to make any marketing or social media activity work for you, you need to be all over your data! This means knowing and measuring every number, and using the insights gained to inform future campaigns.

If you don’t track, measure and adapt you risk falling into the trap of a scattergun approach to marketing – and wasting money on campaigns that you have no idea will work or not.

Data is worth its weight in gold. It enables you to write campaigns that you know will appeal to your ideal target audience, and significantly raise your ROI (return on investment).

So if you haven’t done so already, examine all your sources of data – look at your newsletter reports, your social media analytics and the results of any advertising you have done so far. Explore what is working (lists that respond well, days, times and messages that get better responses, and advertising opportunities that deliver stronger results) and look for ways you can do more of it.